Title

Virgin and Child crowned by two angels

Anónimo castellano

Generic classification

Object

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Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

When the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts in Belgium acquired this painting, the canvas was placed with two other pieces in a triptych. However, it seems unlikely that the work was originally intended to be placed in this way. On July 15, 1952, the owner of the Davis Gallery in Paris -who had brought the piece-, Paul Fierens, chief curator at the time, and Baron Descamps, member of the Commission of Antique Painting, met in Brussels. The price proposed by the dealer was not subject to discussion and the Commission of Antique Painting accepted the purchase for a total of 100,000 Belgian francs (700,000 French francs). Thus, the museum acquired the piece on September 3, 1952. However, the payment was complicated to process due to administrative issues. The gallery tried, unsuccessfully, to receive the amount by other means than those provided for in the museum's official procedure. Finally, after following the established process, the payment was made almost six months after the acquisition.

Although we do not know the author of the work, some stylistic features such as the concern for the three-dimensionality of the figures refer to Hispanic painting. According to Carter (1954), the painting moves away from the more polished workmanship of the Catalan and Provençal versions of the same iconographic motif, aligning itself with a group of works of Castilian origin related to the circle of Pedro Berruguete (1445-1503). This artist played a fundamental role in the reception and reinterpretation of Italian and Flemish models after his stay in Italy and his apprenticeship with Justo de Gante (Mateo, 1986; Marías and Pereda, 2002).

From the iconographic point of view, the painting is part of the tradition of the Madonna del Latte, originally spread in Italy through figures such as Andrea Vanni, Taddeo di Bartolo, Giovanni di Paolo, Vincenzo Foppa and Giovanni Bellini, among others (Carter, 1954). These Italian compositions introduced for the first time the motif of angelic crowning in the context of the infant Virgin, an innovation that later spread to northern Europe. Compositional elements characteristic of that tradition can be observed in this painting. Likewise, Carter (1954) points out that, although the iconography is of Italian origin, it is plausible that its diffusion towards Castile also took place through the Netherlands, as demonstrated by the Flemish influence perceptible in the gestures and posture of the Child, which recalls the Virgin of Lucca by Jan van Eyck. Similarly, the imprint of Joos van Cleve is recognized, especially in The Holy Family of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Carter (1954) attributes the transmission of this iconographic model to the cultural and commercial connections between Castile and Flanders, driven by the patronage of Queen Isabella I of Castile, whose collection housed works by Memling, Rogier van der Weyden and Dirk Bouts, among others (Sánchez Cantón, 1950; Yarza Luaces, 2002; Pita, 2006).

We are grateful for the information provided by Lara de Merode, curator of Flemish Painting at the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts in Belgium.

Description

In this painting appears the Virgin breastfeeding the Child. The Virgin is crowned by two angels and situated in front of a tapestry flanked by a landscape. The work has undergone restorations that affect, among other areas, the face of the angel on the left and the forearm of the Child Jesus. In spite of incorporating an Italo-Flemish iconography, its formal and technical characteristics allow us to place it within the Castilian artistic context of the first half of the 16th century, probably in the Palencia area (Carter, 1954). Regarding the colors, the painting has a chromatic palette dominated by vermilion, bluish green, grayish white and gold, as well as a vigorous plastic modeling that shows a clear concern for the three-dimensionality of the figures. The painting was later placed in a triptych with a neo-Gothic frame next to two side panels dedicated to the Annunciation.

Locations

• Early XVI^th c. - Mid XX^th c.

  region

  Possibly from the province of Palencia, Palencia (Spain)

• 1950 - 1952

  dealer/antiquarian

  Davis Gallery, Paris (France) *

• 1952 - 2025

  museum

  Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts, Belgium, Brussels (Belgium)